Adam J. Levitt, founding partner of DiCello Levitt. Courtesy photo Arguing Class Actions: Quality vs. Quantity—The Debate Over Reasonable Attorney Fees
Arguing Class Actions is a monthly column by Adam J. Levitt for the National Law Journal.
September 09, 2024 at 06:00 AM
7 minute read
Last year, U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes of the Western District of Missouri approved a $500 million settlement in the T-Mobile data breach litigation, finding that the "historic" settlement extended "extraordinary" relief to the class. In re T-Mobile Customer Data Breach Litigation, Case No. 21-MD-3019 (W.D. Mo. June 29, 2023). On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit agreed—and the appellant objectors did not even dispute—that class counsel had "represented the class well" and "obtained a significant result." In re T-Mobile Customer Data Breach Litigation, Nos. 23-2744 and 23-2798 (8th Cir. July 29, 2024). Nevertheless, the Eighth Circuit overturned the $78 million fee award, deeming it a "windfall," because class counsel had not, in its view, logged a sufficient number of hours to justify a roughly 16% fee.
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